BAZI KNOWLEDGE BASE
What is a monthly pillar in BaZi? Solar-term months and monthly forecasts
A monthly pillar is the stem–branch pair for a shorter period within the year. Common BaZi Month-Pillar (the two-symbol column for the birth month) calculation changes at a Jie solar term (one of 24 seasonal markers defined by the Sun’s position along its yearly path), rather than the first of a Gregorian or lunar month. Before reading a monthly forecast, establish whether it covers an exact solar-term interval or gives a Gregorian-month overview. Their date ranges differ.
Which terms begin the twelve months?
Each interval starts at the actual instant of the listed Jie and ends at the next Jie. The intervening Zhongqi does not change the branch. The term is one astronomical instant whose local clock representation depends on time zone.
| Branch | Start → end |
|---|---|
| Yin | Li Chun → Jing Zhe |
| Mao | Jing Zhe → Qing Ming |
| Chen | Qing Ming → Li Xia |
| Si | Li Xia → Mang Zhong |
| Wu | Mang Zhong → Xiao Shu |
| Wei | Xiao Shu → Li Qiu |
| Shen | Li Qiu → Bai Lu |
| You | Bai Lu → Han Lu |
| Xu | Han Lu → Li Dong |
| Hai | Li Dong → Da Xue |
| Zi | Da Xue → Xiao Han |
| Chou | Xiao Han → Li Chun |
How are month stems derived in a Bing Wu year?
The Five Tigers rule derives the month stem (the upper symbol in the birth-month column) from the applicable year stem (the upper symbol in the birth-year column). Bing and Xin years begin with Geng Yin, followed by Xin Mao, Ren Chen and Gui Si, with both characters advancing one step per month.
After Li Chun on February 4, 2026 in Hong Kong, the month is Geng Yin; before that boundary it remains Ji Chou of the preceding solar-term year. Lunar New Year on February 17 does not change the Month Pillar again. Near the boundary, check the exact instant.
How does a monthly pillar fit the annual reading?
Begin with the natal, period and annual context, then ask what the month adds. With natal Yin and period Xu but no annual Wu, a Wu month temporarily supplies the remaining Yin–Wu–Xu member; it does not permanently rewrite the natal chart (the chart calculated for the birth moment).
Inspect the month stem, hidden contents, roots and other contacts as well. A monthly label gives finer timing within the model, without establishing that a theme must become an event then.
What does Clarify’s current monthly overview represent?
The current calculation takes the fifteenth at 12:00 UTC as a representative instant for each of twelve consecutive Gregorian months, then generates a monthly pair and theme from that solar month. A row labeled “2026-02” does not assign one solar month to every instant of February.
Its labels use a limited set of element, Ten-God and relation rules. The rows do not return exact term start and end instants or synthesize every natal, Luck-Pillar (a pair of symbols used to interpret a roughly ten-year period) and annual condition described here into event forecasts. They provide overview themes; boundary questions require a calendar check.